Steeple Morden CofE VC Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 April 2026

Pupils are enthusiastic about the recent, positive improvements to the school's work that leaders have put in place. They know that leaders are ambitious for them and want pupils to succeed as highly as they can. Pupils appreciate how staff take care of them and keep them safe. Pupils in Year 6, for example, appreciate the additional help they receive to catch up on gaps in knowledge and be ready for secondary school. Children in early years make a positive start to their school life and soon follow the high standards set for them. Overall, pupils benefit from the necessary changes that leaders have started to make to improve the quality of the school's work, including in its curriculum and teaching. However, sometimes pupils find that teaching is not adapted well enough to meet their needs. This limits how well pupils achieve, including in their reading, writing and mathematics. This includes pupils with special educational needs and or/disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. On occasion, pupils' learning is not extended well enough by staff. Many pupils here are capable of achieving more. Pupils look forward to coming to this school and now attend more regularly. They behave well overall. Pupils are confident that staff will sort out any worries they may have. Pupils relish using the school's high-quality outdoor play provision. They love the chance to build dens, play in the sand, sledge, and climb over huge tyres and obstacles. They talk about this building their confidence, resilience and teamwork. Playtimes are joyous and harmonious. Pupils experience high-quality wider opportunities, due to leaders' ambition and vision, which is well supported by parents. Through fundraising and subsidies, pupils visit the theatre in the West End and go on residential trips. Visits to Duxford Air Museum and science businesses, for example, bring to life their learning from the classroom and broaden their horizons.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that staff use information from checks on pupils' learning to ensure that support is suitably adapted to meet the varied needs of pupils, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Leaders should make certain that staff resolve gaps in pupils' reading, writing and mathematical knowledge securely, so that these pupils catch up quickly.
• Leaders should ensure that staff set precise targets for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and take ownership for increasing the amount of progress that these pupils make from their starting points.
• Leaders should check that staff implement the curriculum in the ways that the school intends, so that pupils achieve as highly as they should.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)